The Shadowhunter's Codex (13 page)

In earlier times astriola was invariably lethal, and not much could be done for the sufferer but to make him comfortable and to remove him from innocents who might be harmed when his full demonic alteration took place. The progress of the disease could be slowed but not stopped, and in many cases the victim would choose not to be treated, since by and large treatment would only prolong his agony. Today there exist reliable cures that can clear up demon pox in its early stages, and the illness now causes few fatalities. It can, however, still be incurable if the sufferer reaches a certain stage of demonification before being treated. In addition, a fairly serious stigma is still associated with the disease, and its presence is considered sufficient evidence for the violation of the Law against consorting with demons. Thus those who are treated for demon pox today often receive this treatment while in the prisons of the Silent City.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND THINGS TO TRY

1. Try: Learning a few words of Purgatic or Cthonic! Your local Institute should contain copies of several phrase books.

I recommend the classic
Learn Purgatic in Ten to Twelve Years of Misery.
Do you plan to order lunch in a lot of demon restaurants?
No. Is it worth it?

Then no. The demons who are smart enough to have a conversation usually speak a human language.

2. For those of you with the Sight, have you ever seen a demon prior to your time among the Shadowhunters? If so, how did your mind process what you were seeing?

Insert joke about Mrs. Thomson from seventh grade here.
Well, there was Mrs. Thomson—oh, you ruined it, never mind.

3. Demons are fond of promising their victims that which their heart most desires. What are some things a demon might promise you, and how might it manage to fulfill those desires in an ironically horrific way? It is worth considering these so that if a demon actually offers you what your heart most desires, you will not be taken in by its lies.

A demon might promise me—a pony.

He might manage to fulfill those desires in a horrible way by giving me a plastic toy pony, or a really angry pony that attacks people, or a pony covered in sharp spikes so that you can’t ride him.

Your homework: Figure out how to take these discussion questions more seriously!

If demons marauding across our world were the only creatures that had to be kept in check by Shadowhunters, our lives would be notably easier. Demons, except for the rare shape-shifting varieties, are usually obviously inhuman, and they are conveniently universally malevolent. In the relations between humans and demons there are no politics, no negotiations. There is just war. They attack; we defend.

But the whole of the world is not that simple. Once demons began to trespass into the lives of humans, the waters of good and evil became muddied, and the muddied waters of humanity became Downworlders. Some Downworlders—warlocks and the fey—predate the Nephilim by untold years. But the youngest Downworlders, werewolves and vampires, are a relatively recent phenomenon, the result of demon diseases previously unknown that have crept into the human race and, it seems, are with us for good.

WEREWOLVES

There wolves!
Are you going to do this in every chapter?

Maybe!

The earlier of these demon diseases is lycanthropy, which is believed to have first appeared in the forests of Central Europe sometime in (probably) the thirteenth century. Lycanthropy is believed to have spread rapidly through Europe and then more slowly to the rest of the world. Persecuting and publicly burning werewolves was in vogue late in the fifteenth century and early in the sixteenth century, which corresponded to a similar fashion for burning so-called witches (almost never actually Downworlders; see “The Hunts and the Schism,” in Appendix A).

Lycanthropy transforms a human into a werewolf, a demi-human whose demonic infection causes them to transform into a large and dangerous wolf under the light of the full moon. Worse, werewolves in their lupine form are not merely wolves. They possess unnatural—demonic—strength and speed, and their claws and fangs are able to slash through a chain-link fence or bite through a padlock. Without help and training a werewolf can be a very dangerous creature. When lycanthropy is at its worst, a man lives what appears to be a normal mundane existence, only to become a vicious, uncontrolled, murdering beast roughly three nights each month, retaining no memory of his own evil acts.

IF YOU MEET A WEREWOLF

A werewolf who is in his or her usual human form, and not under the influence of the lycanthropic Change, is no different from any other human. You should approach any new werewolves in human form as you would anybody else. Contrary to common belief, they will not smell you or challenge you to mortal combat.

If you encounter a werewolf in wolf form, you must quickly assess the situation. If he is ignoring you, move away from the area calmly but quickly. If he is watching you, look for the signs of aggression you would look for in a dog—bared teeth, growling, hackles raised. Raise your hands to show you are not a threat.

Also try to look as little like a roast beef as possible.

Defend yourself only if attacked, and try to incapacitate the wolf, not kill him. A werewolf who is attacking a human is almost always responding out of terror, or is newly made and not yet in control of himself.

If you know the werewolf in question,
do not
attempt to reason with him by calling him by his human name or reminding him of all of the fun human things you have done together. Also
do not
try to give him commands like you would a dog (such as “heel” or “stay”).

WHERE DID WEREWOLVES ORIGINALLY COME FROM? HOW DO THEY LIVE?

It is not known what demon, or demon species, is responsible for the first appearance of werewolves. There is a conjectured Greater Demon of origin, who is usually referred to by the placeholder name “Wolf” in literature. Despite many supposed descriptions of Wolf in medieval writing, there exists no credible candidate for who he might be. He seems to have appeared, created werewolves, and left our world forever.

New werewolves are created when a human is bitten by an existing werewolf. Approximately half the time a werewolf bite will cause lycanthropy in the victim. Many safeguards against bites are now in place, and much organizational work has been done by the Nephilim and by werewolves themselves (see the sidebar on the
Praetor Lupus
) to prevent unexpected attacks, which means that rogue werewolf bites are happily a rare occurrence today.

The job of the newmade werewolf, his new responsibility, is to gain control of his transformation, or “Change.” Control in this area is more important than any other adjustment he makes to his new life. Werewolves can in fact live peaceful and calm lives among mundanes, more so than other Downworlders, with proper training and self-possession. By the regulation of the Praetor Lupus, any werewolf who cannot consciously control his or her Changing is deemed a rogue, whatever his or her other behavior. This regulation is intended to motivate werewolves to learn to control their Change—in order to get the Praetor off their backs; an accidental attack is a disaster for the Praetor and the werewolf community, and they require strong rules to prevent such a thing.